VCs should want to hold early-stage companies more accountable

If the last year has taught us anything, it’s that VCs let their portfolio companies get away with a lot.

No balance sheet? No problem; here’s a $32 billion valuation. No proven product-market fit and your last venture cost investors billions? Here’s a check worth more than all Black founders raised in 2021’s otherwise record-breaking year. Cut a check for Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition when he’s never built in that space before and has a reputation for treating employees poorly, why not?

One can only imagine the messes we don’t hear about.

Venture capital has a history of choosing potential profits over doing the right thing, but in many cases, this intentional lack of accountability over a portfolio company’s sore spots or issues ends up biting the investor down the line. It could also end up hurting their LPs when things inevitably start to crack.

Usually we — as in, those who aren’t working at, or investing in, said startups — don’t hear about these instances until it’s far too late. A startup is worth over $1 billion, and only then do we learn about the employees and stakeholders being affected by the company’s missteps or leadership shortcomings.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

VCs should want to hold early-stage companies more accountable by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch